They said that this single event has significantly undermined years of effort to build momentum in the region’s tourism sector, resulting in an immediate 30% loss in accommodation bookings
The tour operators in Meghalaya have strongly condemned the incident at Umtynger on July 26, where vehicles from Assam were stopped by members of pressure groups, preventing them from going to popular tourist destinations in Meghalaya like Dawki and Cherrapunjee.
7 tours operators jointly issued a statement condemning the incident and said that this single incident has significantly undermined years of effort to build momentum in the region’s tourism sector, resulting in an immediate 30% loss in accommodation bookings.
Members of the Tour Operators Association of Meghalaya, Meghalaya Rural Tourism Forum, Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum, and Federation of Shillong Hotels expressed their dismay during a media briefing, calling the incident illegal and harmful to the tourism industry.
Tourism stakeholders fear that the rapid spread of news about the incident could lead to further cancellations of tours and activities, potentially affecting up to 50% of bookings from July 27 onwards.
The vehicles were stopped yesterday at Umtyngar, about 20 km from capital Shillong, by members of the Hynniewtrep National Youth Federation. Umtyngar junction is the place from here the road bifurcates, one side goes to Dawki and the other goes to Cherrapunji.
